1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inserting a wire-equipped terminal into a connector housing in the fabrication process of a wire harness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a method and apparatus for inserting a wire-equipped terminal into a connector housing according to the prior art (JP-A (Laid-Open) Hei 3-66790).
As seen from FIG. 7, on a rectangular stand plate 1, a plurality of housing receivers 2 are arranged at suitable intervals, and a connector housing 4 having a plurality of terminal containers 3 is set in each housing receiver 2.
A wire-clamping rod 5 is arranged oppositely to the stand plate 1. A large number of clips 6, each composed of a pair of clipping pieces 6a, 6a, are arranged in parallel at regular pitches. A terminal-crimped wire 7 is clipped in each clip 6.
A pair of terminal-grasping picks 9 and a pair of wire-clamping plates 10 are provided in an insertion unit 11 so that they can freely open/close and rise/fall, respectively. The insertion unit 11 is provided so that it can be freely brought into contact with, or separated from the connector housing 4 in movement along X-Y-Z axes and can rise/fall and shift horizontally with respect to the stand plate 1. Reference numeral 12 is a plate for fixing the wire-clamping rod 5.
The wire equipped terminals 8 can be inserted into the connector housing 4 as follows, in FIG. 8, the insertion unit 11 moves horizontally (X-axis movement) onto the first wire-equipped terminal indicated by symbol 8.sub.1, falls and rises (Z-axis movement), grasps the terminal 81 and a wire 7.sub.1 by the terminal-grasping pick 9 and the wire-clamping plate 10, advances towards the connector housing 4 (Y-axis movement) and inserts the terminal into a predetermined terminal container 3.sub.1 and retreats.
The above prior art insertion method has the following drawbacks. In the step of inserting the wire-equipped terminal 8 by the insertion unit 11, the movement amount of the unit 11 is relatively less with respect to the Y and Z axes. On the other hand, with respect to the X axis, it is more. Specifically, for example, where the second wire-equipped terminal 8.sub.2 is to be inserted, it takes a long time because the going up-and-down distance L where the insertion unit 11 goes to grasp the terminal and returns is relatively long. Because of a long loss time thus generated, the productivity cannot be enhanced.